Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi real estate developer, Aldar Properties, announced plans to float its asset management company, Khidmah, through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) of shares in the coming years.
In a statement released by the company on Sunday, Abu Bakr Seddiqi Al Khoori, chairman of Khidmah and Aldar Properties, said, “Operating increasingly as a standalone business, we believe there is [a] strong case to consider listing the company in the coming years.”
Al Khoori did not disclose details of the timing or the amount of shares the company will list.
Khidmah’s profits rose 90 per cent in 2013 to reach Dh19 million while revenues rose 22 per cent to Dh156 million. In 2013, the business also diversified from solely managing Aldar assets to having 78 per cent of its revenue generated by third party clients.
Last week, Khidmah was appointed by Musanada, the facilities management and shared services arm of the Abu Dhabi Government, in a Dh54 million contract to provide total facility management services for 225 mosques in the Western Region for three years.
Cleaning services
Musanada also hired Khidmah for Total Facility Management for 27 governmental buildings in Al Ain. The contract is valued at Dh34 million, and will run for three years starting May. Other major business wins since the start of the year include a three-year contract under process with Mubadala for the cleaning services for 10 of their sites, in addition to other services for the First Gulf Bank Arena in Zayed Sports City for a period of three years.
Aldar currently holds a 60 per cent stake in Khidmah, whose property management portfolio holds more than 6,600 units including full developments, and individual units.
Property firms in the UAE are recovering strongly after the downturn in 2009 following the global economic crisis. House prices and rents have jumped and developers have announced many new projects.
With inputs from Reuters
